Chapter 474

When they got back home, the two of them hit the kitchen together just like old times.

It'd been a hot minute since they last cooked up a storm together, and Theresa must've sensed it, because she was over the moon seeing them at it again tonight, barging into the kitchen, all thumbs, eager to lend a hand.

Sophia and Brandon didn't put any brakes on her; they gave her some easy- peasy tasks, and the little pumpkin was all in, working her socks off.

The excitement and joy carried over to dinner, with Theresa gabbing away, trying to juggle eating and chatting at the same time.

She was so much more full of beans than she had been in the past few days. It was clear as day that Theresa was really digging this family vibe.

Sophia, watching Theresa like this, felt a rollercoaster of emotions. As a mom, seeing her kid happy and chipper was the biggest win she could ask for.

Her internal scales were already tipping, almost without her realizing it, towards giving Theresa the full family package.

this tilt came a pang of regret and a touch of melancholy that she wasn't the

the tableware and was just staring off into space at Theresa, oblivious to Brandon's

locked on her. He didn't miss the struggle

weight of those emotions was like

Theresa for a walk, helped her with her bedtime routine, and tucked her in,

Brandon didn't follow; they

into the computer chair, leaning back, head tilted up, staring

time he laid eyes on her as she walked into the high school classroom, the way she nervously approached her seat under the teacher's direction, the evenings they biked home past the river, the pride he felt winning the 5-kilometer at the track meet as everyone crowded around him, expressing "congrats", while she cheered

of emotions that led to a night of lost control, to the confusion and uncertainty at the hospital holding the pregnancy test, and then slowly settling into the tranquil harmony

lovely during those years, always quiet and unassuming yet earnest and dedicated, gracefully content,

allowed him to focus on his career with a sense of security, taking for granted that she would always be there; whenever he was weary, whenever he remembered

she wasn't. She could leave,

gone. From start to finish, Sophia

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